Hello everyone, new to Coffeegeek. Nice to find so many people with such a passion for coffee. I apologize for what I expect to be a lengthy post, but bare with me, I'm hoping some of you will have valuable experience that you can share.

First things, my experience and preferences.

What I own.

Hario v60Bunn Phase Brew HgBodum French PressKeurig Rivo ( from what i've read, not liked on these boards, but it really is just another machine that I own and exclusive to this post. Makes a consistant esspresso shot and i expect it to improve once lavazza improves its packaging. Will it ever be great, probably not, but it is sufficient for when I want a quick shot )Bialetti moka PotD'longhi ec155 espresso machine that i have never used.

So on to my dilema. History on my drinking habits. For as long as I remember, I stayed away from south american beans due to acidity/ bitterness. Due to lack of knowledge that may have just been a product of bad preperation and service and not the actual beans. I relegated myself to Peets major dickinson / Starbucks italian roast/ Keen Carls blend. All darker roasts. Recently I decided to venture out again and do some more reading. ( hence finding this forum) I went out and bought some freshly roasted beans ( Verve / Konga/ethioia from "Single Origin") and tested it out on my varius coffee machines.

What I found.

Hario v60 ( to shorten this post, process is abbreviated )- medium to fine grind - 208F water from a zjuiroshi-30s bloom, about 3 min extraction time, pulse pour with a small ceramic tea pot

The Hario produces a very sweet full cup. My gripe is that i taste a lot of accidity and possible bitterness.

The Bodum produces a very clean full cup, not quite as sweet, but a lot smoother without the accidity/bitterness.

Bunn is somewhere inbetween, but just a ok cup,

So now my question is. Is my process for the Hario flawed? Am I tasting bitterness that isn't really bitterness but just the flavor from the beans? Is my coffee over extracted or is the french press under-extracted?

Of the 3, the french press produced the best tasting, but it lacked the dynamic range ( lack of a better term) of flavors that the hario produced.

208F seems a bit on the high side of ideal brewing temperature. I was under the belief that 205F is as high as one should go to avoid scalding the coffee, perhaps even a bit lower for some beans. Could that be part of the problem? Although I'll defer to the more experienced users of this site to comment authoritatively on brewing temp. CCG

canuckcoffeeguy - i thought it might be the temperature, does this alter that flavor dramatically? I use the same temperature water in the french press, with very different outcomes. I'll try letting the water cool abit and see what happens.

Good stuff! First off, many coffees are supposed to have a noticeable acidity. For many people that have used super dark beans and milk for awhile, the acidity becomes an acquired taste. Bitterness in the other hand is not desirable, and is a sign of over extraction. I'd suggest five things at the moment. 1. Lower the temp of the water to around 200. 2. Grind just a bit coarser. 3. Get a new grinder. 4. Keep brewing and see if you start to appreciate the acidity. 5. Try an Indonesian coffee and see if that's more your vibe.

Thanks for the suggestions, indonesian will be my next purchase if I can find fresh beans.

I visited a coffee joint last night and had a chat and observed their v60 brewing process. A couple things that I noticed. He pours out the drip after the initial bloom, and didn't let all the coffee drain from the brewer. It produced a really nice cup.

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